


Goblin Paths

by Genuka



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Labyrinth (1986)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Labyrinth Fusion, Bunny Farm Escapee, F/M, Goblins, M/M, Potter Luck, Random Updates, Rating May Change, The Labyrinth is Conscious, Warnings May Change, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-28
Updated: 2017-10-19
Packaged: 2019-01-06 09:28:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12208482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Genuka/pseuds/Genuka
Summary: Harry was soaked through and thought that the Dursleys dumping him on the streets of London away from anything magical wasn't all that bad. A little finagling and he would be snugly ensconced at the Leaky Cauldron. Then his Luck kicked in with a vengeance in the form of a pretty girl crashing into him, trying to escape some asshole, and things got complicatedfast. Harry just hoped that Snape wouldn't kill him once he finally had him properly caught and questioned with Veritaserum.





	1. Street Race

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ShadowsWithoutHope](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowsWithoutHope/gifts), [ThePhoenixandTheDragon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThePhoenixandTheDragon/gifts), [Hisuiko](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hisuiko/gifts), [Wishfull_star](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wishfull_star/gifts), [crankypants](https://archiveofourown.org/users/crankypants/gifts), [loretta537](https://archiveofourown.org/users/loretta537/gifts), [Wolfmistress](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wolfmistress/gifts).



A mop of messy black hair topped a youthful angular face that was a bit too thin with brilliant emerald eyes. Eyes that sparked with tired defiance with a backing of burning life. The bruises under his eyes explained the tiredness hiding in his gaze even as the fire of life refuses to dim within his crystal green orbs. His name? Harry Potter.

Raised as a modern slave in all but name by his hateful relatives his life changed the day he turned eleven. The day he discovered he was a _wizard_.

It was the very same day that all of the extra punishments were explained, all of the amazing and occasionally terrifying thing that happened in his life. Harry hoped for a normal life in this new world were he could be himself. It was not to be as Fate had long since marked him for things extraordinary. It was something that Harry often resisted, fading into the background whenever possible.

This day so soon after his 16th birthday his relatives had abandoned him to wait in an area of London near the Central Criminal Court building with a jibe about him belonging in chains. They left him on the side of the road without even a half-penny and a warning that they didn't want to see him again until next summer before heading out for a fancy dinner. One of the parting shots was that he could find his own way to school, knowing he was being left miles from Kings Cross train station and Diagon Alley - the wizarding shopping district.

Harry was unsurprised when Lady Luck immediately started a down pour to soak him through to the bone twenty minutes after he started walking, looking for somewhere to think. He knew he wasn't that far from St. Paul's cathedral but he never thought he would be called on once again to enter a new world of magic. The meeting that Lady Luck and Lady Fate had conspired with Lady Magic to arrange for him would change his life once more along with the face of the building magical civil war.

It all started with a girl that had been touched by a different kind of magic named Sarah Williams.

The rain had stopped before Harry had passed twenty minutes trying to find acceptable shelter _away_ from the Criminal Court building. It only took his sodden form ten minutes to crash into a fleeing young woman who was being chased by a man. The two went down in a tangle of limbs and a small cry leaving the brunet's lips with Harry giving off a soft but pained grunt as the woman slammed into his bruised ribs courtesy of his Uncle.

"Sorry sorry sorry! Have to get away from that _thug_. Oh! Did I hurt you? Sorry! Why won't the idiot leave me alone?!" the slender yet beautiful woman babbled, swapping between her concern for the flattened Harry and her concern for the man who was quickly approaching the downed duo.

The man who had been chasing her looked to be in his mid-twenties dressed in blue Jeans and a dark no sleeved shirt. Harry automatically noted the cruel look deep in his eye even as the man's charisma put nearly everyone else at ease with his apparent goodness. The woman laying sprawled atop him wasn't buying it either.

"Up," Harry ordered sharply, the man was getting too close. Startled, the woman quickly obeyed allowing Harry to rise. She was shocked when the sodden teen grabbed her wrist and bolted in the direction of the cathedral and its grounds, swearing under his breath as he fought to breathe at a run.

The man simply followed them at more of a jog, too confident for Harry's comfort. They passed through the crowds and Harry dragged her towards where he had figured out was the closest tube station, _praying_ that they could use the underground trains to get _far_ away.

"Where?" the woman asked breathlessly as they ran.

"Tube station!" Harry called back, faltering briefly due to using more air than his lungs had.

They practically dove down the stairs barely noticing that the man now had a scowl on his face and had picked up speed. The woman's lack of tube pass or money held no problem as Harry _willed_ the gate to let them through using his wandless accidental magic deliberately for once. The two darted through the crowd in the station as though made of quicksilver and as they passed near a man in a dark suit Harry's eyes met the gaze of a man he recognized. The look of curiosity quickly turned to shock and then anger.

"Potter!" Snape bellowed in clear outrage.

Harry promptly diverted their course calling out in relief, "Professor!"

"You aren't getting away Sarah!" the chasing man called angrily.

"Buzz off! No means _no_! You belong in the bog of eternal stench!" Sarah shot back, more confident now that she believed she had more help than a single skinny teen.

Reassessing the situation rapidly Snape gestured to the now loading train and commanded " _In_!" just as he did at the start of every class. Harry automatically obeyed, dragging Sarah with him and tossing evil glares at their pursuer with Snape close on their heels. A discrete tripping hex from the darkly clad Potions Professor had the man tumbling straight into a trash bin just as the doors of the train closed, whisking them safely away down the line.

"What on earth are you _thinking_? Running about London away from your relatives? _Without_ back up no less? Not even your friends? And for what? A date with a pretty girl?" Severus scolded as the two tried to catch their breath. There were to many muggles around to dry the sodden Lion so Harry remained wet even as the man plotted to feed him a pepper up potion and make him scrub cauldrons.

"Actually, I slammed into him less than five minutes ago trying to get away from that idiotic pile of dragon dung. He figured out what was happening while I was apologizing and dragged me here while we tried to loose the idiot," Sarah explained, finally catching her breath.

"He shouldn't even _be_ in London. No offense miss," Snape responded angrily.

"My relatives dumped me in front of the building with the statue of a gold lady with a sword and scales on the roof and said not to come back until next summer! They burned my trunk and I barely managed to send Hedwig off to the Burrow before they tried to kill her! My cousin is the only reason they didn't try to contact one of the other side and sell me as a slave. I overheard them talking about it," Harry explained quickly. He was too on edge to even try lying to the man and still trying to catch his breath even though Sarah had hers.

"A likely story," Snape snarked, crossing his arms and giving his student his best glower.

"That's interesting," Sarah said looking at them keenly before suddenly noticing Harry was favoring his left side a bit. "Oh, you're hurt! Did I do that? I am so sorry!"

"Its nothing," Harry denied quickly.

"Not from the way you're moving its not," Sarah said firmly, her eyes narrowing in determination that Snape recognized Harry using on occasion.

"What have you gotten into _this_ time?" Severus demanded, grabbing Harry's arm and inadvertently dragging a hiss of pain from his student. The dour man dropped his hold as if burned, even taking a step back to give Harry space.

Harry gave them both a rueful smile before slumping down in his seat in exhaustion, fighting to stay awake. He hadn't been allowed to sleep the night before between the demands of his relatives and the nightmares that haunted him.

"I can't take you home with me as a certain _rat_ is in residence to watch me. Contacting the others to come get you is out of the question for other reasons and the Headmaster obviously has no idea where you are or I would have been called to help look for you. You also got yourself hurt to boot. Did I miss anything? Do you even have what you bought from Ollivander with you?" Severus summarized the situation with a glower.

"They snapped it then burned it. I need a new one," Harry said sadly, briefly rubbing at the center of his chest as a phantom pain from the destruction of his wand reminded him of the broken focus. "Dudley got Hedwig out for me after arguing not to contact _him_ since someone already tried talking to Uncle Vernon at work about it."

"Do I even want to know what the two of you are discussing," Sarah asked suspiciously.

"No/Not particularly," the two men told her simultaneously.

"I'm going to have to use up one of my special favors to sort this out without... unpleasant repercussions. We will drop your new friend off and head for Diagon. If we are _incredibly_ lucky my Uncle Jareth will see us and have a solution that _doesn't_ have me running his pet maze," Severus muttered angrily.

"Wait, what?! You know the Goblin King?" Sarah demanded in shock.

"Keep your voice down!" Harry snapped before mentally pausing and rewinding to review what had been said and asking, "Wait, the Goblins have a King named Jareth? He's your uncle?!"

"Yes, they have a king and how, young lady, do you know about my Uncle?" Severus asked her sharply, instantly on edge.

"I'm a former runner," Sarah said simply as if that answered everything. From Snape's expression Harry figured it somehow did.

"You must have learned something important to keep even a few memories of my Uncle's blasted maze when you failed to solve it," Severus said, nodding in understanding.

"I didn't loose. I beat it and him," Sarah explained with a blink of surprise.


	2. Family Bonds

Severus paled, immediately worrying the other two. Ignoring the openly curious other passengers he pulled his wand and cast several diagnostic spells over her much to Harry's interest and Sarah's consternation. A quick look at the results had him grabbing them and apparating them straight to the courtyard behind the leaky cauldron. Both passengers fought not to be sick as Severus hurriedly opened the passageway and started dragging them towards the bank.

"What the hell Snape?!" Harry demanded once his stomach finally settled enough on the move not to spew just because he opened his mouth.

"If we don't get her to the bank quickly my Uncle will blame us for her impending death! We can not afford to have a second war on a different front!" Severus informed them shortly just as he dragged them into the bank.

"What are you talking about?" Sarah demanded just as she caught sight of the goblins working inside the bank.

Shouts in gobbledygook went up as Sarah was recognized along with the fact she was clearly being dragged. Snape shouted something back in a broken form of the language that rapidly got better as he spoke as if he hadn't spoken it in a long time. They immediately gained a goblin escort and were hustled past the tellers and down several hallways into what Harry easily recognized as the bank's version of a hospital wing.

"Get on the bed Lady Sarah. A healer will be by shortly," Severus ordered gently.

"What the hell is going on?!" Sarah demanded, pointedly stepping _away_ from the closest bed even as she reclaimed her arm.

"Professor?" Harry inquired softly.

Snape hesitated before reluctantly answering, "When you ran the Labyrinth you bonded with the power at the core of the Labyrinth it... changed a part of you. In fact from listening to my Uncle bemoan your loss you should be dead because he didn't find you within three years of your return home. From what my diagnostic spells told me you ate something in the Labyrinth and the magic within the food has kept you alive but not without consequence. The magic in the food is fading. If we don't get you healed quickly you will be dead by summer's end... from a lack of magic."

"Well my strange luck was good for something then," Harry said ruefully, the pain closely hidden in his voice even as it stabbed at his heart with thoughts of Cedric and Sirius. "I'm going to get detention for being out alone in London but I met Sarah and got her to someone who could save her. At least this time no one is likely to die because of me."

"What are you on about? No one's death has been your fault unless you've gone and killed someone without letting the rest of us know?" Severus asked suspiciously. He absently cast a drying spell on his still wet student and a warming charm to try and prevent the brat from coming down with a cold.

"No, no, no, just Sirius and Cedric," Harry answered bitterly.

"They weren't your fault stupid boy!" Severus said exasperatedly. He was unsettled that the younger man thought those deaths were his fault.

Before anything more could be said several Healers bustled into the room. Much to Sarah's mix of amusement and irritation all three of them were hustled on to a bed each and quickly examined for anything wrong with them. Severus' loud protests were ignored just as thoroughly as Harry's quiet cursing over being caught up in the impromptu exams. _Jareth_ was in the room before the exams were done.

"Uncle," Severus greeted the tall platinum blond Fae as he entered the room. The Potions Master's irritation bled through clearly and his glare at the Healers just as clearly indicated the targets of his irritation.

"Nephew," Jareth greeted back with open amusement before his eyes focused on Sarah.

"Jareth," Sarah greeted warily.

"Sarah," Jareth breathed. "I thought... when I couldn't find you after I got free of the rubble. I kept looking until the Labyrinth herself healed enough to tell me you were sent back with the babe and that you had to be found."

"Why did I have to be found?" Sarah asked suspiciously. "I'm not 15 anymore Goblin King. I'm not overawed by your power and you don't have Toby hostage anymore."

"You rejected my offer but you ate the peach and won against both me and the Labyrinth. The magics reacted in an unusual fashion my sweet Sarah, you've started becoming Fae. The magic in the peach was meant only to distract you as a part of the test within the Labyrinth but the magic clearly had other plans. It laid a claim on you just like in the old human stories about eating Fae foods while in the Underground. Just like the _Labyrinth_ laid a claim on you... as Queen Elect. You are a part of the Labyrinth now and need to return to it regularly even if you never choose to live there. You passed the most important step in being eligible to become Queen, without this step the Labyrinth won't answer to anyone," Jareth explained hesitantly. "Your brother... would have become my successor, my heir. By beating the Labyrinth in a sense you both joined him and took his place."

Harry could tell by his careful choice of words and his watchfulness that the man... no, the _Fae_ felt this was vitally important to explain but wasn't sure that Harry's new friend would react favorably to the news. For that matter neither was Harry.

"Explain that last bit," Sarah demanded in a tone of ice, protective fury rising visibly in the woman.

"Had you accepted my offer and we had married you would have been my wife but not the Queen. Toby is still my Heir but so now are you. Either we will rule jointly, marry, or you and Toby will become my successors. The magic already accepted both of you," Jareth explained. "The reason you could have very well died is that as a near adult when the change began you needed a larger amount of magic to stay safe and stable during the change. If I hadn't practically poured my magic recklessly into that peach in an attempt to make it a true gift and safe to eat for all its magics you would have simply collapsed one day. The change and the bond with the Labyrinth wouldn't have had enough magic to survive the conflict occurring within you. The claims still stand strong but they would only last for so long and you can't yet produce your own magic to complete the process."

"And Toby?" Sarah asked icily.

"He won't need to visit the Underground again unless he wants to until he hits around 15. He's safe Sarah. He's _Safe_ ," Jareth assured her.

"Well that explains the pull on my magic while we were running," Harry mused quietly.

"What?!" Severus demanded sharply as Harry suddenly gained the complete attention of the room.

"Ulp! Er, Nothing!" Harry denied with a gulp.

"Oh no you don't young man!" one of the Healers scolded as Harry was caught trying to bolt and stuck to the bed with a sticking charm.

"His health is _horrible_ and he fed his own magic to Lady Sarah?" muttered a second one.

"How bad?" asked the third Healer curiously.

"Bruised and cracked ribs, bruises and contusions scattered all over his body, the sleep bruises are covering less benign bruising around the eyes, hairline skull fracture, mis-healed bones scattered everywhere, _malnourishment_ of all things, and he's dehydrated," the second Healer retorted. "Technically it could wait for the discussion to be over since he doesn't have internal bleeding but there are signs that he had it and it recently healed. I was going to petition the king to keep him until he's half way decently healed, especially since there are magical signs that he's a missed wished away."

Harry took the immediate drop in room temperature as his cue to leave. Hearing all of the specifics of his injuries listed Harry tried to discretely cancel the sticking charm wandlessly. This, his latest attempt to escape, only introduced him to the bed growing restraints made out of soft blankets. His quiet yelp of surprise informed the Healers of his latest escape attempt.

"Potter! Stay in bed for once!" Severus snarled visibly trying to control his suddenly infuriated temper.

"This is Potter? The spoiled brat you complain about when you visit for giving you nightmares and ulcers? The one Dumbledore is trying to force into fighting a war single-handedly without a scrap of real training?" Jareth asked in obvious disbelief.

"Yes," Severus said sulkily. He did _not_ want the troublesome bane of his existence to know all of that.

"Severus exactly how much of your magic are you suppressing?" Jareth asked in exasperating as he rubbed at his temple in an attempt to stave off the migraine he could just feel staring to build.

"80%," Severus admitted, refusing to look at his uncle.

"That is _not_ healthy, Lord Prince!" the third Healer scolded immediately. "My King I recommend forcing your nephew to unbind his power and remain confined within a magically rich area for the next week, preferably the most magic rich areas of the Labyrinth. As for the young man... we can heal him but if he isn't removed from whatever situation caused this he won't _stay_ healed and the malnutrition is a long term healing in any case. We can't even _begin_ to get a read on if anything magical is affecting him negatively because of all the more normal damage."

"Ah that might be a problem... if Wormtail is staying with him he can't just disappear for a week without getting tortured or killed by Voldy once he gets back," Harry pointed out quickly, hoping that throwing Snape to the Healers would give him a chance at escape. The leveled glare from the Potions Master told him the man knew exactly what he was doing and didn't appreciate it.

"If we could just get our hands on a Parselmouth I could force you into letting me remove that blasted mark!" Jareth complained, seething at being unable to free his nephew. Snape's suddenly intensified glare warned Harry to keep his mouth shut about his own Parselmouth status.

"As interesting as all this is... shouldn't we be healing the young man who kept Eric from trying to rape me?" Sarah asked pointedly. The temperature in the room dropped again.

"Suddenly wishing that I could have tagged him to give to Voldy," Harry murmured.

"If I have anything to say about it you won't get near that man again until you at least have enough training to _escape_ or better yet _kill_ him," Severus said sharply. "No matter how often you have supposedly faced the Dark Lord it is not a trivial matter!"

"I never said it was! Its not like I actually try to meet him and fight him nearly every year! Give me _some_ credit. If I could figure out how to make the meeting safe enough to talk and stay away from Dumbledore I would! I also would be smarter about trying to contact him than waiting for his latest attempt to _kill_ me," Harry protested. "The hat wanted me in Slytherin for a reason and even though he fooled me good in first year I _did_ figure out his motive weren't all fluffy unicorns and rainbows and light. I'm not an _idiot_. I even figured out that befriending Ron was a set up, though I'm pretty sure the twins weren't and Ginny keeps _stalking_ me! Luna and Neville are cool though, even if you are always scaring Nev."

"Tell me, if you could just... disappear and leave the foolish Wizards to clean up their own mess would you?" Jareth asked mildly. His eyes dancing with mischief and power.

"That depends... what's the catch?" Harry asked warily.

"Uncle," Severus growled warningly.

"You wouldn't leave when we found you the first time after you were stolen because of your friend, that Lily girl, and by the time _she_ wasn't a factor you had already been tricked into that _mark_! Then there is the vow to protect this Potter that you were tricked into, binding you to Dumbledore's every whim on pain of it being broken which would have killed you. Nephew, he is right here _away_ from Dumbledore or anyone else. He is in our domain! Why won't you come _home_?" Jareth asked in deep frustration.

"My teaching contract..." Severus started only to be interrupted.

"Excuses!" Jareth barked back. "We can provide a replacement while you remain safe."

"He... he likes the idea that he has me trapped. Riddle may have gone insane but while he was still sane he was a friend. Dumbledore caught me in his web the night I heard the threat to Lily and her family. My promise was _anything_ and he has been making good use of it. The old coot keeps me close and legally holds my guardianship. They don't know I'm anything but a wizard with a talent in potions. I am allowed things and friends outside Hogwarts only if it may benefit him or my position as a spy. I am under _orders_ to torture and bully Potter as a way to keep him grounded to reality in the face of his fame. I... I don't know what to do Uncle..." Severus admitted, head down.

"Shit, he did it to you too," Harry laughed bitterly. "One of these days I'm going to figure out how to kill that old lemon sucker and get away with it."

"He is your guardian as well?" Jareth asked sourly. Sarah swallowed bile when she saw the young man nod his agreement.

"Magical guardian. His blood relatives who happen to be muggle hold his muggle guardianship," Severus clarified helpfully for Harry, who in turn glared at the other wizard.

"May I suggest that we _heal_ the young man and the Lady Sarah properly before dealing with convoluted power games?" the first Healer suggested pointedly. "He _did_ feed the Lady Sarah his own magic despite his own poor health."

"Yes, yes, of course," Jareth agreed hastily.

"Well if I'm not needed I'll just be going shall I?" Severus asked, attempting his own escape.

"Stay!" Jareth ordered his nephew sternly, giving him a glare of his own laced with a touch of power to show he was serious.

"We need him to stay in any case. His connection with our patient through the vow you mentioned will help us gauge some things if he isn't forthcoming about certain things as we try to heal him," the second healer pointed out with a sigh.

"I've been feeling it twinge since the vow was made but up until now... I honestly didn't know what was causing it," Severus admitted shamefacedly.

"How much of the empathy aspects were... are you suppressing?" Jareth asked pointedly. "Considering how far Dumbledore went to control him I'm honestly not surprised that he is a missed wished away. The magics that were probably left around him likely hid the summoning so I couldn't know he was there."

"As much as I could," Severus admitted, completely embarrassed for getting caught when he knew better.

"Impossible brat," Jareth huffed fondly, making Sarah giggle and Harry stare while hiding a grin from his pouting "evil" Potions Professor.


	3. Prophecy Negotiations

The next several hours were spent piecing Harry back together and making everyone angry at the physical damage as they viewed the scars while watching Harry heal, finally understanding the damage. While drugged to the gills Harry thought he saw some sort of serpent and greeted them politely out of reflex in Parseltongue. The last thing he heard before slipping into sleep was Jareth's cry of triumph.

"No!" Severus snapped at his uncle after adding a sleeping charm so that Harry wouldn't wake during the coming _loud_ discussion.

" _Yes_ ," Jareth said fiercely, his eyes glittering in victory. "You can't stop me, especially with so much of your power being suppressed. I will not have a member of my family held captive in this fashion!"

"I _must_ stay close. There isn't a way around this!" Severus gritted out.

"Why? To allow you to be treated as a lowly servant caught between two mad men?!" Jareth demanded.

"There is a prophecy involved," Severus said shortly. The silence that followed made Sarah wonder exactly what prophecy had to do with any of this.

"Are you named?" Jareth demanded softly.

"From what little I know and understood Potter is the one destined. I carried the partial prophecy to the Dark Lord believing it would be dismissed as codswallop but that it would keep me close enough to Riddle to figure out how to heal him. I was rightfully horrified when he took the fragment seriously and targeted Lily to boot. James and Black might have made my school time a near living hell but I still cared for Lily. Incidentally Dumbledore believes I was in love with her but she was my friend almost to being my sister, _not_ a love interest," Severus explained tiredly. "I am bound more tightly than if I _had_ been named by the blasted prophecy. What little of it I know seemed odd but something forced me to report it on top of my own reasons."

Jareth hissed in displeasure and gestured for one of the healers to focus on his nephew to check for enchantments. Severus, knowing it needed to be done, sat patiently as he was thoroughly checked for magics not his own. The healer muttered something foul under his breath before casting something only to reel back as if struck as Severus doubled over in silent agony clutching his middle.

Jareth immediately replaced the healer and focused his magic on his nephew, diving into the man while leaving his own body temporarily behind. What he found made him sick even as he determinedly set about destroying the myriad of magics cast upon his nephew. He started by looking at the web of magic as a whole. The mix of light and dark was pretty to look at but all the more dangerous for its intricate beauty. A mental breath and he focused on freeing his nephew's magic to make certain he had enough aid on hand. The binding Severus had laid on himself was simple but if left for more than a century would kill him. Jareth scowled and promised himself a _word_ with his nephew.

Carefully, oh so carefully the Fae binding was removed only for him to discover _wizard_ bindings that he knew his nephew _never_ would have allowed. A mental swallow of bile and a snarl at the abomination before Jareth got back to work. Teasing thread by thread of the magic free was exhausting but by the time one of the healers forced him back into his own body Jareth had not only freed his nephew's magic but destroyed most of the spells that had been cast on him.

Jareth stood heaving for breath over his unconscious nephew and accepted a restorative draught. As he turned away tiredly his legs buckled only for soft female hands to catch him and help him to a nearby bed.

"Sarah," Jareth breathed before falling into an exhausted sleep of his own.

"Three healings from the king in one day," the Healers fretted over all of them.

Sarah found herself drinking several things before being given a meal that was obviously filled with magic. Jareth's earlier explanation had given her enough information to know that the high magic content of the food was probably intended to help her. It was just odd to see green mush with crisp red, pink, and lavender sliced veggies but taste fantastic spaghetti and meatballs with strips of garlic bread on the side.

None of this kept her from worrying about the three unconscious men. Sarah was just grateful that she didn't have anywhere to be until the next day. A quiet discussion with one of the healers informed her that she was going to have to talk to the Goblin King. He also indicated that it might be a good idea to send a message to her work or anyone who needs to be aware that she wouldn't be available for the next several days due to medical reasons. A more knowledgeable goblin was brought in and the arrangements were made with a short summary on who to contact and why. Hopefully there wouldn't be any problems from her impromptu visit to the goblins. A few pointed questions had a proper explanation of where she actually was and what the current general situation of the area was explained to her.

The three men were woken by Severus' first choked back scream as the Dark Mark on his arm flared to painful life. The healers rushed to him only to be snarled at to back off. Harry's own choked scream had them splitting their attention as his famous scar started to bleed.

"Tell me now if you don't want Riddle knowing where you are because right now I'm ready to shove the information down the link," Harry gritted out, laying rigid on his bed and struggling not to scream.

"Tell him... neither side wants a war with the goblins much less the rest of the Fae," Severus rasped, trying to control the pain in his arm.

"Inform him he is expected at the bank so that we can sort this out," Jareth ordered tightly, clearly their pain was bothering him greatly.

Moments later Severus went limp at the release of pain but Harry gave a brief shout before falling into semi-consciousness however the tightness left his body, signalling a drop in the pain, both wizards were breathing hard.

"He'll be here shortly," Harry told them ten minutes later as he rose back to full consciousness, ignoring the soreness that permeated his body.

"Uncle, I still haven't figured out what caused his insanity. I suspect enemy action but until the cause is firmly identified little can be done," Severus warned. He did _not_ want his friend killed no matter how far off the deep end he had gone. There had to be a way to heal him, there just had too.

"You don't need to worry... yet. His link to the both of you needs to be checked before I can afford to kill him for torturing a family member. If he happens to not actually be at fault... well we will cross that bridge when we come to it," Jareth said darkly.

"Jareth, perhaps you should find out everything about the situation first? What if it isn't just an enemy of this Riddle person that caused this? What if it is an enemy of your family? One that knew about your nephew the whole time? Wouldn't you want to know?" Sarah pointed out. She knew from experience that making it personal meant that the situation would be examined all the more closely while from the stories about the Fae she had learned some plots could take centuries to unfold.

"Are you willing to learn about your position and eventual duties as Queen Elect and Champion of the Labyrinth?" Jareth asked quickly, seeing an opportunity.

"Its not that simple. I have other obligations and a job," Sarah said pointedly.

"You earned this job first. Whoever your employer is will be compensated for your loss but this is something you will need to know in the centuries to come," Jareth pointed out stubbornly.

"C..centuries?!" Sarah stammered, staring at him in shock. At his solemn nod she swallowed hard and reluctantly nodded her agreement. "On the condition that I am not trapped, that I can visit my family and friends, and the Mr. Potter over there is _never_ given back to whoever is mistreating him."

"Done!" Jareth agreed immediately, rising to stand regally as ever.

"Such an interesting agreement. I wonder what caused it?" Voldemort hissed mildly from the doorway as he entered the room. His snake-human hybrid form didn't bother anyone as most were used to the strange form the Fae tended to take or had seen him before.

"My luck being insane again," Harry answered dryly as he sat up in bed, the hospital gown he had been changed into falling open enough to reveal some of his scars. The sight of those scars had the Dark Lord's gaze hardening in obvious anger.

"Why are you angry? From what I've heard you've repeatedly tried to kill Mr. Potter," Jareth asked shrewdly.

"One of my goals is the protection of magical children. The Ministry is corrupt and dozens of magical children are killed before arriving at Hogwarts or abused by their muggle families and sent back to them every summer. A situation that is unacceptable. The pureblood mantra is mostly only espoused by some of my more extreme supporters. Muggleborns need to be either taken at the first sign of magic to be raised with magical families or monitored closely and removed at the first signs of abuse. Mr. Potter's situation is unique in that I can't afford to let him kill me before magical children have a safety net. As such, knowing that his parents needed to be dealt with in any case, I struck first. Most of my other attempts against him were targets of opportunity though I admit to the suspicion of someone else, Dumbledore perhaps, manipulating us into confrontations. Aside from one incident which went wrong in any case my attempts were simply to remove him and be done with it. A quick kill if you will," Voldemort explained.

"So the graveyard?" Harry asked darkly.

"Side effects from Wormtail botching the ritual for the most part. I still haven't identified what all went wrong and have been... unstable as a result," Voldemort admitted honestly.

"He should have made sure the target didn't have... extras in their blood at a guess," Harry snorted, completely unimpressed and unsurprised at the rat's poor potions skills.

"What extras were in your blood? I went out of my way to ensure that Wormtail was clean but I could hardly do the same for you," Voldemort asked with immediate interest.

"That I know of? Acromantula Venom. Depending on how long Phoenix Tears and Basilisk Venom last in the blood those too," Harry informed him, smirking in open amusement.

"Which explains his current fragility and appearance," Severus sighed. "Wait, when did you get _Basilisk Venom_ and _Phoenix Tears_ in your blood?!"

"Second year when I was forced to kill Slytherin's Basilisk," Harry told them with a shrug.

"You and I are going to have a little _talk_ with a dose or two of Veritaserum," Severus growled in open frustration and displeasure.

"You have to catch me first," Harry shot back cheekily.

"I do believe that you both just volunteered for a game of tag with answers as a reward. Lets make it more interesting and add a maze to the mix shall we?" Jareth suggested wickedly. "It will be good practice for Sarah in case she needs to deal with a runner in the near future."

"No!" Severus immediately protested, making both Harry and Voldemort curious but unwilling to ask.

"Come now Severus, you can't be afraid of a little maze? Or is it Mr. Potter's answers that frighten you?" Jareth asked wickedly.

"Hardly and the Labyrinth is anything but a _little maze_ ," Severus scowled petulantly. There were plenty of reasons that made using the Labyrinth for this a good thing but equally there were a number of potential bad things in the arrangement.

"How is using a _living_ maze for something like this a good thing?" Sarah drawled with a bit of a giggle. Her own trip through the Labyrinth had been relatively harmless for all that it had definitely been a teaching experience and as a result she didn't think it was all that dangerous.

"Sarah... you had a fairly peaceful passage through the Labyrinth in large part because of your gentle nature. You needed only a gentle wake up call. Others.... others need more firm lessons. Lessons that can some times be life threatening and that is just for the runners. Anyone who enters the Labyrinth is risking their life, even the runners though they have a bit of a safety margin. There are a few exceptions but not many and those are all chosen by the Labyrinth herself," Jareth explained carefully, recognizing where her flippant attitude was coming from. "There are very few exceptions but they do exist."

Sarah immediately sobered, suddenly understanding everyone's concern, "Oh, I didn't know."

"Which is why my Uncle said something," Severus pointed out with obvious disapproval. "And why I _don't_ want to have to run through the blasted maze again... too mercurial for my taste."

"Uncle?" Voldemort asked sharply. He hadn't been outside long enough to realize that the meeting he was attending had him at such a disadvantage as having hurt a relative of the Goblin King.

"Yes, _uncle_ ," Jareth said with dark amusement.

"Is there any way this isn't going to end badly for me?" Voldemort asked with clear resignation.

"Possibly," Jareth conceded. "But it isn't a very good chance. Your earlier explanation about your side of this little war was a good start."

"And if I immediately relinquish all claim to Severus? Remove the Dark Mark?" Voldemort asked shrewdly.

" _Uncle_ ," Severus warned darkly.

"You, nephew, are about to owe me a very _large_ favor," Jareth declared wickedly before turning back to the Dark Lord. "Whatever has happened to you needs to be healed. You and every single one of your marked followers will submit to an examination and healing. Depending upon the results of that I may or may not claim one or more of you as recompense for the harm that has befallen my nephew during his time in your care. Of course you will naturally still be surrendering any claim you may have on Severus. Refusal is... unwise."

" _Goblin King!_ " Severus snarled as he moved to get off his own bed.

"You are in line for the High Throne. Granted you are currently something like 8th in line but it is still possible for you to be given one of the thrones of the Underground one day," Jareth pointed out sharply. "Be grateful I did not have the ridiculous Wizengamot dragged in here and demanded a quarter of their people in exchange for not engaging in open war with them. Father and the others would not have even needed to be involved. I could have done it with my goblins alone much less the rest of my personal kingdom."

Severus bowed his head in sullen acknowledgement and silently resettled himself on his bed, absently grateful that unlike Potter he hadn't been slipped into a hospital gown while he slept.


	4. Hedwig's Chick

Harry's bright green eyes watched this all with keen interest that, Sarah noticed with some amusement, had a larger focus on Severus and his comfort rather than the potential danger of a mortal enemy in the same room. Something clicked inside Sarah's mind making her look sharply at the teen.

"You are part Fae," Sarah said softly. "Now how exactly did such a mischievous imp like you become part Fae with those bright green eyes giving you away."

Everyone heard her and turned to look at Harry who shrugged.

"Lily must have been a changeling," Severus groaned. " _That_ must be why I was so drawn to her and wary of everyone else despite the mistreatment."

"Mistreatment Severus?" Jareth asked sharply.

"My nominal parents. Suffice it to say that Tobias was a mean drunk and often spent most of our money on it. Both of them are dead so there is no point in beating the subject to death or sending anyone after either of them," Severus said shortly.

"If I remember correctly Dumbledore forced you back every summer, claiming that you were exaggerating just as he did to me," Voldemort commented thoughtfully.

"I _knew_ it! I knew those bruises weren't from falling on the playground!" Jareth growled in outrage.

"They are dead. There is no point in this discussion," Severus pointed out acidly.

Jareth opened his mouth to argue back just as Harry exclaimed "Hedwig!" happily and a snowy white owl flew into the room to land on Harry's bed. She hooted a greeting and somehow arranged to perch on his shoulder before starting to groom his hair.

"Irala? Is this where you got off to?" Jareth asked with a mix of amusement and concern.

Hedwig shifted back to the naked form of a young female elf-like creature that Severus recognized as a Slyph. Harry, feeling the transformation, twisted around to see what had happened and why he suddenly had hands on his shoulders where there had been talons moments before. His eyes widened in surprise which popped even wider in shock when the strange woman drew him close to cuddle him.

"Goblin King," she greeted cheerfully. "How do you like my chick?"

"He is one of the most surprising mortals I have ever come across if indeed he is a mortal," Jareth answered dryly.

"He isn't or at least not completely mortal," Irala/Hedwig agreed cheerfully. "I've been raising him since that oaf of a half giant Dumbledore keeps bought me at the wizarding pet store. I was careless and mistaken for one of their specially raised post owls. Once I saw the condition the chick was in all I could think was that he needed someone to rely on. I didn't make the changeling connection until the bond had formed between us. Because of his position among the Wizards I couldn't just bring him home as his new mother but I plan to officially petition for dropping his vile relatives into the Forest of Heart's Darkness. If he weren't so powerful they would have long since killed him."

"If his injuries when he arrived were any indication I don't doubt it," Severus admitted reluctantly.

"The Stolen Prince! I'd recognize that voice anywhere! I watched over you at times when you were little," She exclaimed clapping her hands together in happiness while keeping a bewildered Harry pressed up close against her. "Oh, OH! You're Snape! This is just too perfect! My chick has been mooning over you for just _ages_ even if it was mostly by complaining about you."

"Hedwig!" Harry complained in complete embarrassment, blushing bright red.

"Hush chick, you can chase him for your mate later," the Sylph scolded, her eyes laughing as she continued to cuddle him, much to his own mortification.

"You... _what?!_ " Severus stammered, eyes wide in shock.

"Oh this is _priceless!_ Once you've caught him you can have your answers my dear nephew. Enjoy your run through the Labyrinth!" Jareth announced gleefully.

"Not until we've finished checking them and healing as much as possible!" the first Healer scolded, stopping the impulsive transfer to the Labyrinth. "I realize it is traditional for potential suitors to run the Labyrinth when it comes to the royal family but it will have to be delayed."

"Good, I don't want _his_ temper crippling my chick while he plays chase for his right to the Lost Prince as his mate," Irala/Hedwig said firmly, pointing at the Dark Lord in accusation. "Every single time _he_ looses his temper and starts getting curse happy I have to watch my chick get hit with whatever spell he is using through their mind link, usually a Crucio. I want the mind link sorted out enough so that my chick can at least close his end before either of them goes anywhere."

"What?! How the devil did that happen?" Voldemort asked in pure bafflement.

"Got to see through Nagini's eyes a couple of times too. Its weird," Harry admitted sheepishly as they all looked at him in shock while Hedwig cuddled him.

Voldemort's eyes widened in pure shock as his face drained of what little color it had. The only reason that particular set of reactions would have happened was if Potter was a Horcrux, _his_ Horcrux.

"I... don't think that its fixable," Voldemort whispered hoarsely. "At least not without killing him and I will curse anyone who suggests that as a solution."

"You know what it is," Jareth said shrewdly. Voldemort blankly nodded agreement as his mind ran through every single time he had nearly killed the young man that he now knew held a piece of his soul. He also went through every memory of the other Horcruxes and every time he read the book on them.

"Oh..." Harry said as his mind dragged him through the same memories that Voldemort was reviewing, learning about Horcruxes in the process. "You are an idiot and Dumbledore knows about them."

Voldemort groaned at this news and rubbed at his temple before snarking back. "Just be glad this ends my need to kill you."

In response Harry sighed and shoved his memory of the prophecy down the link. Voldemort reviewed it avidly and came to the conclusion that not only was it fulfilled it was a fake in the first place.

"I'm going to _kill_ that old fraud of a goat!" Voldemort seethed. "Bloody manipulative _bastard_!"

"I am clearly missing something," Sarah commented, confused.

"As are we all," Severus sighed in irritation.

"The Dark idiot was trying something he shouldn't have been playing with the night my parents died. When I tossed the Killing Curse back at him as a baby it backfired a bit and left a piece of his soul in my scar. By the way I expect you to recall all the others that, reviewing your first memories of the be-damned book, you were forced into making," Harry commented pointedly.

"And how exactly was I forced?" Voldemort demanded. "Granted I obviously shouldn't have been attempting it in the first place but I don't recall anyone holding a wand or a gun to my head."

"Compulsions on the book," Harry said simply. "The memories you have of reading it make me think they are layered, subtle, and _extremely_ powerful. That said the only person _I_ know of who might qualify as hating you that much or who would otherwise be in a position to arrange this is Dumbledore. Your mask has always been very good when you weren't utterly enraged."

Voldemort rubbed at his face again as he muttered curses, knowing that his former enemy was right.

"Horcruxes?!" Jareth asked in a dark and dangerous tone, rage flickering behind his eyes.

"Not his fault," Harry insisted again. Hedwig just sat behind him, content to use her fingers to continue grooming his hair as she watched for potential danger to her chick.

All this time the Healers had been working, occasionally checking on them, casting a diagnostic spell, or feeding them a potion. In Sarah's case just being near such magically powerful people was helping, even so they were keeping a close eye on her. Unfortunately, they hadn't been keeping a close enough eye on _Harry_. Harry doubled over in a silent gasp of pain as a spell long since laid within him awoke, sending him into painful agony as punishment for what he did not know.

"Harry?! Chick! Nononono! Stay with me chick! Stay awake!" Hedwig's panicked cry brought the Healers running as they frantically tried to discover what was wrong.

Harry was breathing hard, attempting to breath through the painful fire that raced through his gut. As he fought with whatever was hurting him he could only think _fuck all if he was going to die from this_. Reaching deeper than ever before he scrambled for his strength and magic only to come up against a flimsy net keeping him from most of it. With an effort of will he ripped through the insubstantial net and grabbed at what had lain trapped behind it before going after the poisonous fire eating away his gut. He threw the power recklessly at the water in an attempt to drown it, succeeding in flushing it away with his own Tsunami of raw power.

When Harry opened his eyes to look at the infirmary and those within it his eyes met shocked gazes even as he noticed the burned hands holding him, giving a cry of dismay. Hedwig ignored the damage she had received from the release of her chick's power and cuddled him close again. She cooed at his cute newly pointed ears and to sooth his distress, keeping him calm. The release of power had also destroyed Severus' own transformation on his ears and wiped clean his hair of the grease that protected it from potion fumes during his brewing. It was as if Harry's own power had affectionately groomed him, taking its cue from Fae instinct and Hedwig's own example.

"He flushed his own system!" the second Healer said in astonishment. "Whatever that curse was he reached for power that wasn't there before to beat it and flushed his own bloody system! Are you certain he's purely mortal?"

"Check him again and this time use a deep scan!" the first Healer ordered sharply. The three Healers hustled about Harry trying to figure out what had happened until they finally came to a consensus.

"Well?" Severus snapped sharply. By this point he was standing off to one side poorly concealing his concern now that so many of his secrets were out and his Uncle was nearby for back up. It took a great deal of effort for Sarah not to grin at him knowingly.

"We found the remnants of several powerful bindings. Some focused on his overall power levels while others targeted particular abilities. Several other spells targeted his ability to understand and learn but the tricky part was that it was targeted to very specific subjects. If he wanted to learn something that was identical to the restricted subject he could unless someone informed him that it was a part of the restricted subject, triggering the spells. As an example Potions was the most restricted subject until just now but if he thought of the information as if it were for _cooking_ he could learn it. His Fae nature was one of the things bound and the magics forced him to age as that of a human. I suspect that we will find a similar spell on the Prince or at least the remains of one," the first Healer explained.

"There were also originally a number of loyalty and control potions in his system but his nature, though suppressed, fought the controls. The love potion that was in his system would have increased his fondness for the target but also forever prevented him from choosing the target as his mate. Whoever did this wanted a puppet, possibly even a weapon with how the spells encouraged learning combat wizard magics," the second Healer added solemnly.

"He still has scars but the most dangerous physical damage we had planned to address next week after he had rested was repaired with that blast of magic. His mis-healed bones realigned, his organs have regenerated to being only slightly hurt by the lack of nutrients rather than on the verge of failing, and the lung scarring is regenerating. He still needs a great deal of nutrients and his bones are extremely fragile primarily due to a lack of available calcium when his newly released magic tried to heal everything," the third Healer finished their report.

"This all boils down to..?" Jareth prompted. His eyes were dark at how much damage hadn't yet been healed and how much had only been fixed by the blast of magic for all that the Healers had planned future treatments.

"He still needs the stronger malnutrition treatments but something had been masking the damage to his bones and organs, forcing them to work at a normal level in their damaged state. That enhancing magic is gone but in its place a large chunk of the damage was healed. He will need supplements for everything we can think of to repair the bone weakening and damage to his organs but it is fixable. He is currently at the physical capacity of a human slightly younger than his 16 years, incredibly weak for a noble Fae of Duke rank but not completely helpless. The same is likely to be true for your nephew considering the forced maturation at a human rate. Again, reversible but it will take time," the first Healer summarized. "I can confidently say his system is clean aside from the soul shard in his scar and the odd mix of Basilisk Venom and Phoenix Tears that has bonded to his blood. We also now know what spell was used to force your nephew's maturation at a human rate, allowing us to remove it."

"So what made what ever it was trying to burn me alive from the inside out?" Harry asked sarcastically.

"The trigger... was being around the Dark Lord peacefully for more than twenty minutes. The curse was a nasty one but your magical outburst wiped away most of it so we are uncertain exactly what the spell was or who cast it," the first Healer explained calmly.

"Hush chick, you will get your chance to chase your handsome prince and capture him. You must be strong and healthy before you can claim him," Hedwig shushed him. She cooed in comfort, recognizing that Harry was hurting from realizing how much physical damage had been done to him.

"What damaged your lungs?" Severus asked gently.

"Probably the cleaning chemicals from the shelf in my cupboard," Harry shrugged apathetically, tensing a moment later after realizing what he had said.

"Sleep," Jareth ordered sending a miniature crystal at Harry to burst into little sparkles, sending the young hybrid to sleep.

"I will start brewing the potions he needs," Severus promised softly.

"You won't be going back to wherever you have been staying. Once your Riddle and I have finished _discussing_ it you will be free of his service. Another Potions teacher will be sent to take your place at the Wizards school until your current contract is finished," Jareth ordered sternly. "You have more than paid for whatever that old bumblebee did for you."

"Severus Snape, I formally release you from your oath of loyalty and service with thanks for the loyal service you have provided. I also formally apologize for the harm I have done you during my illness. If you can think of something to compensate you for my own part in this I will attempt to fulfill it," Voldemort offered solemnly. He quickly hissed a sharp command that set the dark mark to burning briefly, dragging an unexpected grunt of pain from the hidden Fae. The blackness of the tattoo quickly fell from his arm in a tangle of slick tar-like coils only to dissipate into black sand-like smoke that quickly vanished as it hit the floor.

"Had that caused my nephew harm you would be in a great deal of pain right now," Jareth said harshly, his eyes full of icy darkness.

"But it didn't. He released your nephew instead. He could have left the magic and used him as a hostage or hurt him further. Instead he let him go. Its clear to me that he didn't know that Severus was your family and Severus just as clearly hid what and who he was from _everyone_. I agree that he should have asked before removing whatever it was if only to keep you from thinking he was attacking or hurting Severus," Sarah pointed out. "Besides you are still making him and all of his people get checked."

"I would rather not be involved in that mess but as long as either side goes after Potter I can't escape," Severus muttered with a grimace.

"I can't speak for Dumbledore and his people but I plan to give orders to protect Potter rather than harm him. With this new information it is clear that Dumbledore tricked us all," Voldemort agreed with a grimace of his own. "At this point I really don't care if you were spying against me or not no matter what Bella might say on the matter. I also wouldn't mind knowing what he meant about his _cupboard_."

"Something for another day but I greatly fear it will just make us angry again," Jareth grimaced. "Severus, one of the goblins will show you to one of the on-site potion labs. Knowing you, you wont be satisfied with anything someone else might brew, especially since you've already promised to brew what he needs yourself."

"What do you mean by that? Why would Potter make you angry? I agree that he tests my temper beyond reason but he generally doesn't incite anyone who isn't trying to actually kill him," Voldemort asked in puzzlement. "Though I most definitely agree about Severus' perfectionism when it comes to potions."

"I suspect that we will need Potter's relatives for some of our answers and Dumbledore for others even if we can get Potter to tell us what _he_ knows," Severus snarked, ignoring their commentary about his brewing standards. The lack of true bite in his tone though gave away his lack of true animosity.

"Jareth? I think everyone needs a rest and some food before we do anything else," Sarah suggested. "We've found out a lot of things already, most of which I need better background on. I didn't like what I did understand. I am very angry with whoever hurt him. I am possibly as angry as you are but we have him now so sorting it out better can wait until we've all had time to think about what we've learned and let him heal a bit before quizzing him again. If there are records about any of this you can set someone to looking through the paperwork. That way you will have more information to base a decision on."

"Very good Sarah," Jareth said approvingly, sending for refreshments and sending for the account managers for Severus, Harry, and the Dark Lord. They were given instructions to assemble the relevant information and told to report back in the morning with it. Sarah didn't argue over making the managers work through the night because she was fairly certain that this might qualify as an emergency.

The group ate supper together in the infirmary with Harry receiving a nutrient potion spelled into him by one of the Healers so as not to wake him. Conversation was pointedly light in keeping with Sarah's insistence of letting the information settle and taking a brain break from discoveries for the night. Voldemort was pointedly given a bed in the isolation room of the infirmary with a word from Jareth and Sarah about getting his own health exam done in the morning. The Dark Lord wisely didn't argue the point and graciously accepted the accommodations.


	5. Breakfast Council

The next morning Harry was shocked to find everyone still basically in the infirmary. He had already gotten the idea that the healers weren't going to release _him_ anytime soon. On the other hand finding out that Snape was the only one to have actually been allowed to leave and only because he was brewing potions for Harry himself was a complete surprise. There were also signs that the man had tried to hide in the potions lab only to be dragged back with the finished potions by someone at some point.

Hedwig had stuck around in her owl form and actually slept that way on his headboard or rather the metal pole masquerading as a headboard. Harry supposed that was a good thing because it first kept him from jumping a still sleeping Snape. It also meant that he had someone around who knew most of his secrets. Finally, it meant that Hedwig could escape to get help if Voldemort tried to kill him. He didn't know enough about Lady Sarah or King Jareth to be sure they would help him if the snake-faced idiot tried to off him when he was basically stuck because of the tyrannical healers. Having woke early due to his typical Dursley enforced schedule waking him Harry was content to simply rest in his warm bed and think about what had happened to him in the last 24 hours.

Much later breakfast passed without incident despite having Harry, Voldemort, and Severus all at the same table. A table that had been specifically set up at Jareth's insistence in the infirmary especially so that they could continue working together. It also just so happened to give the Healers easy access to all of them while within easy reach of any needed potions, something that annoyed both Harry and Severus. Jareth was very obviously unimpressed by their wish to escape the Healers where as both Voldemort and Sarah were simply amused.

"Severus? Quit your moping. I know for a fact that you've risked your own life at times to avoid staying in any sort of infirmary but I seriously doubt your Uncle will let you get away with that any longer. Suck it up," Voldemort ordered with open amusement.

Harry attempted to sneak away as Severus scowled, growling low at the command that was backed up by his Uncle's narrow-eyed firm nod of agreement. Hedwig wasn't going to stand for that and transformed just behind him as he neared the door. Harry squawked as she easily snagged him near the exit with her Fae strength and bodily carried him back to the table, setting him in his seat like a naughty toddler.

"You are both old enough to start exploring adult things and learning adult things, such as basic Fae politics, magics, and assassination techniques. This is especially true with the forced aging from your various experiences and the spells that were laid upon you. However, under Fae law you are still considered barely in your teens, where you will remain until you reach 300 human years of life. You are _technically_ old enough to choose a permanent partner. Because you have been raised as humans I recommend a decade of living together first with whoever you choose as a potential partner in part because of how deeply binding a Fae mating is. Incidentally, you can have intimate relations before taking a mate but once the bonding spell is cast that may or may not change in regards to those not bound as your mate. The magic is somewhat fickle in deciding any marital restrictions but it generally works out well. Severus, I hold your guardianship unless your birth parents challenge for it. Harry, Irala or rather Hedwig as you know her, holds your guardianship unless something strange comes up," Jareth calmly informed them. "Now that doesn't mean you will be kept on a leash or apron strings, whichever is the current correct term, but it does mean that you need to catch up with your Fae schooling. It also means that for the next several centuries if you cross a line you are more likely to be brought to me or Hedwig for correction then face the traditional punishments based on your relative youth."

"What about me?" Sarah asked curiously, taking a drink of her morning tea.

"You get about a century of leeway to learn the Fae culture because you were naturally nearly an adult and have grown up with your original species before the magic started changing you. You are still considered a full adult but thought of more under apprenticeship rules to give you time to adjust. Both Severus and Harry still have time to... play. They won't need to pick an apprenticeship or earn their primary mastery until they hit 325. Severus already has 2 of those under human teaching and doesn't actually need to choose another if he doesn't wish to. Though I do encourage him to look into learning more in those areas and qualifying under other species Mastery requirements. Harry will need to choose something eventually but he has time," Jareth explained patiently. He was glad they were asking intelligent questions and not trying to ignore the situation until it bit them on the arse.

"I wonder what Harry and Severus will look like after the forced aging spell is removed," Sarah mused speculatively.

Both wizards paled and immediately attempted to escape. It wasn't that they didn't necessarily want to return to their proper selves but more that this was the only self they knew and they had no idea what would happen when the magic was ended. Voldemort rolled his eyes and wandlessly used a child leash spell on the two, much to the other's deep amusement. Harry and Severus both reluctantly returned to the table when they realized they couldn't get more than three feet from their seats. The leash was quickly canceled after Hedwig scolded them and placed sticking charms on their seats, keeping them at the table.

"If I may your majesty?" the first Healer requested.

"Yes? What is it?" Jareth asked a bit brusquely. He was amused by the antics of the two but he also recognized that this childish playfulness was more a sign of the forced aging spell breaking down a bit in his presence as a powerful Fae.

"While we have primarily attended to Mr. Potter we have only a general overview on your nephew, largely because we were looking for immediately obvious problems when they arrived. The only magical things we found on the Lord Prince though were the forced aging spell - which naturally covers both mind and body, a few loyalty enchantments - primarily to Dumbledore in some fashion, the Dark Mark - which is now gone, and an unbreakable vow - which you were already aware of. As to the non-magical issues... he needs to eat more and has signs of previous malnutrition from a younger physical age but is mostly quite healthy. There is also some light nerve damage but it is mending nicely. Mr. Potter, on the other hand, currently requires a great deal of rest and various forms of nutrient potion before he should attempt anything major again magic wise. Provided it doesn't cause him undue stress might I suggest sorting out his paperwork and accounts? I would presume that feeding his magic to Lady Sarah and endangering his own life in favor of preserving hers as well as his adoption by Irala places him under Fae law? As well as his birth mother's changeling status?" the first Healer pointed out carefully. "As the wizards currently believe they own him I thought it might need to be dealt with promptly so that no one attempts to use him against Lady Sarah or the Royal Family."

"The damn idiot they have in charge would do it too," Voldemort muttered, clearly upset over Fudge for all that Lucius Malfoy had kept him mostly in line for him.

"We still haven't dealt with the blood quill damage to Mr. Potter either even if his magical outburst dealt with the blocks and purged his system. It even added to our treatments to put a serious extra dent in the damage the long term abuse has caused," the second Healer muttered darkly.

The third Healer cast a few spells at Severus, finishing with a diagnostic spell and a satisfied nod. From the way the Potion Master's shoulders eased Harry and Sarah both suspected that the loyalty magics had been summarily removed. Jareth bore that out by giving the man a nod of thanks and not yelling at him. The forced aging spells were harder to get rid of which was partly why both Harry and Severus still had them.

"We will need to see if some of the rougher guards are willing to go on a hunt for us so that we might have a _chat_ with a few people," the third Healer mused evilly. "We may be bound to healing but that doesn't keep us from requesting someone else act as champion for us regarding such an offense."

"You have permission to keep them... for now. However we still need to sort out their accounts and they can take this time to study up on things they are already supposed to know as members of the Fae," Jareth said evilly, a wicked smirk sending a shiver down everyone's spine.

"When did you want my health check done? And did you want me to bring my people all at once, instruct them to report here on their own time, or arrange for it elsewhere for their health exams?" Voldemort asked with some resignation. "Also do you want the fact of the health checks publicised or kept quiet or something else?"

"I think that it might do well to apply it to the light and the ministry as well but I'm _not_ bartering with him over it," Severus muttered balefully on the subject.

"If you can get it done then I would be willing to trade a great deal for that particular out come. I have long since held a deep suspicion of various participants in this conflict being regularly drugged. If I could just be certain they were all acting under their own choice and as to who is acting under blackmail of some kind..." Voldemort agreed in obvious frustration. His wand hadn't been returned to him when he had been allowed out of the isolation room and while it bothered him a bit he knew that he was _still_ getting off lightly.

Jareth looked pointedly at his nephew who in turn grumbled, doing his best to simply ignore the implied question.

"Wait a minute, the healer said Potter has been subjected to a _blood quill_?!" Voldemort demanded in clear outrage.

Harry discretely slipped his still scarred hand into his lap and pointedly paid extra attention to his breakfast, hoping they would drop the subject. He ignored the fact that Sarah was watching him closely with clear concern.

"Potter," Snape said sternly. Harry ignored him, pretending fascination with his eggs and toast.

"Show us," Jareth ordered softly, though no one mistook the steel in his voice. Reluctantly Harry returned his scarred hand to the table top and showed them the scar from his detentions with Umbridge.

"Who?" Severus demanded darkly. He easily recognized how fresh the re-occurring damage was and was rightfully furious, seeing it himself had really driven the reality home.

"Umbridge," Harry shrugged, retrieving his hand to continue his breakfast and pointedly dropping the subject.

"I see," Voldemort said with steel in his voice. "She will be dealt with."

"Returning to the subject of health checks... you can have yours while we address their accounts as bank customers. I have the sneaking suspicion I may want to kill someone judging by the state of control magics they had on them," Jareth drawled. His eyes glittered with amused malice that made the Dark Lord doubt his people would get to the woman first or manage to keep her even if they did get so lucky.

"On that subject if you can provide me with some way to recall and return my Horcruxes safely I am willing to make the attempt, provided I am allowed to keep at least one and my body is returned to proper health," Voldemort conceded reluctantly.

"Then its going to be the one in either me or Nagini," Harry told the man flatly. He instinctively knew that the two soul shards he had named were the smallest of the lot and had finite life spans being held by living beings.

"You would voluntarily give me that much hold over you?" Voldemort asked quietly.

"Nope but I really don't trust you and I'm not sure who I can trust to watch you," Harry informed him, narrow eyed in open suspicion. "If I'm the one you leave alone I've got some leverage and I can at least _talk_ to Nagini about anything, assuming that I don't loose the Parseltongue with the soul piece."

"Would you consent to a vow that I mean you no harm?" Voldemort offered.

"Not yet. Fix the rest of it then we can talk. I want to be sure that you aren't being screwed with or are somehow sick first," Harry said pointedly looking at the Healers that were still hovering nearby, much to the annoyance of their three current patients.

"I will have to send off a message saying that I came to the bank for healing due to a recently discovered curse but I understand and agree with your caution," Voldemort informed him. "I am willing to discuss this further after I've been released by the Healers."

"Good. We can address the rest of your people after you have been put back together, hopefully the damage will be fixable. It is in fact part of the reason any further reparations discussions must wait. Deciding on something _before_ any sanity issues are fixed except the fixing of said sanity issues is never a good idea if only to assure proper understanding of available resources," Jareth said in satisfaction.

Voldemort was immediately snagged by the over eager Healers and taken away to a different hospital area for examination and treatment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Suggestions on bank discoveries and plots against Umbridge/Ministry/Dumbledore/Light/Anyone else welcome!
> 
> Further story notes:
> 
> Harry & Sev's accounts screwed with by the light - outrage all around. Tampering with various wills/bequests?
> 
> Voldy's health scan? - BasiliskVenom/Pheonix Tears/Unicorn Blood?


End file.
